The Mavericks walked out of a battle on Saturday against the Redhawks in an overtime thriller. The Mavericks won in overtime 10-9, thanks to Farmingdale native Tommy McPartland, scoring the game-winning goal. This game was the biggest test for the Mavs so far this season as it was a back-and-forth affair through the first half.

It started in the first quarter when the Mavericks drew first blood as senior Robert LoRicco scored the first goal of the game off of an assist from Dominic Scorcia. The Redhawks responded quickly when ECC leading scorer Hunter Lemieux scored a goal shortly after to tie it up at one. Right before the end of the period, Mavs leading scorer Brady Kearnan scored a goal to take the lead 2-1 at the end of the period.

Kearnan has been a beast on offense this season but credits his teammates for his big offensive performances. “Although I may be producing in the points department, all of the little things that lead up to me getting those points are solely due to my teammates. Whether it’s grinding out ground balls, or playing great defense, it’s all directly due to everyone on the field.”

However, the Redhawks scored the first goal in the second as midfielder Michael Pierog scored to tie it up at two. His teammate and second-leading scorer in the ECC Matt Gademske followed with another goal to give the Redhawks a one-point lead. But the Mavs wouldn’t back down as Robert LoRicco scored his second goal of the game off another assist by Scorcia to tie it back up at three.

The Redhawks would answer back scoring two unanswered goals by Michael Pierog (second of the game) and another by Jordan Deats to make it a two-point lead for the Redhawks. Shortly after,  Scorcia scored his seventh goal of the season making it a one-point game at the end of the first half.

The third period was owned by the Redhawks as they scored three goals, two by Jordan Deats and another by Hunter Lemieux as they made it a four-point deficient. Right before the end of the period, Scorcia answered back with his second goal of the game to make it only a three-point deficient.

The Mavs trailed 8-5 going into the final period of regulation. This was the test the Mavs have been looking for all season. The Mavs came out guns blazing when Jack Gibbons joined the goal-scoring party cutting down the Redhawks lead by two. Kearnan would follow him with back-to-back goals as he tied the game up at eight. Two minutes later Jack Gibbons would score another goal in the period to regain the lead.

But when you have a scoring machine like Lemieux, any kind of lead isn’t safe, and with only 12 seconds to go in regulation with the Mavs leading by one about to wrap up the game. Lemieux sends it into overtime with his third goal of the game and made it 9-9 heading into overtime.

Another man to credit was goalkeeper Tommy Umano. “I was able to keep poised in net by not dwelling on a previous goal. It’s important to have the mindset that you are going to make the next play.” Umano gave up nine goals to the Redhawks in regulation but still kept his poise and confidence in the net. After a Mavs comeback late in the fourth, the overtime faceoff was won by the Redhawks as Mitch Streety picked up the ground ball and right away took a shot to end the game, but Streety was denied by Umano.

The Mavs got possession of the ball as Kearnan tried to take a shot but was denied by the post. Shortly after that, Kearnan passed it to McPartland, then McPartland passed it to Gibbons. Gibbons was looking for an open shot to score but then passed it back to McPartland. McPartland with a wide-open shot sidearms and it goes in, sending the Redhawks home packing. The eighth-ranked Mavericks win the game 10-9 and stay undefeated.

After Saturday’s thrilling conclusion Tommy McPartland talked about how getting the overtime goal was great, but staying undefeated was even better. “It felt great to get that win. It was the first time this year we had faced some adversity, so it was crucial for us to come together as a team and fight back to win. Staying undefeated was also huge because division 2 is very competitive and to earn a spot in the NCAA tournament you must have an elite record.”

Mercy’s next contest is Sunday against Wilmington University after Friday’s game against Caldwell got postponed. Like always no fans are permitted to the game so you can catch the action at Mercyathletics.com.